'Shockingly Bad!' Blame on Coach Bill Belichick for New England Patriots' 34-0 Flop vs. New Orleans Saints
The New England Patriots thought they had put last week's lopsided road loss to the Dallas Cowboys behind them. But instead, Sunday's matchup with the New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium means "lopsided'' is still with them now ... and maybe in the future, too.
Saints 34, Patriots 0 was so awful so early that the analysis by Tom Curran and his crew of TV panelists called it "shockingly bad'' and "a tipping point'' while essentially blaming coach (and GM) Bill Belichick for a "chronic'' lack of "preparedness.
Standing at 1-4 and seemingly prepared to spend the year getting lapped by the likes of the Dolphins and Bills in the division, coach Bill Belichick and Company needed to cram to find answers - and maybe they did "cram.''
But studying isn't enough if you stink And against the Saints - who boast a tough defense and who showed that off here - the Pats offense absolutely reeked.
Entering this game, New England has scored just 55 total points this season through four games. That's an average of just under 14 points per contest, and that won't get the job done on most Sundays.
And now, after five games? Yup. New England has still just scored 55 total points this season ... with the per-game average now shrinking to 11 points.
Patriots QB Mac Jones
Part of the problem for the Patriots lies along an offensive line that looks like one of the worst in the league. But the skill people aren't explosive enough. It all has affected quarterback Mac Jones to the point where it's impossible to utilize his skills as a pocket passer. ... such as they are. Jones isn't athletic enough to improvise, which is what he tried to do last week in Dallas - to disastrous results.
And he couldn't do anything here, either ... leading to Belichick choosing to bench Jones in-game for the second straight week. ... and also leading to calls from fans for the firing of Belichick, also for the second straight week.
Jones saw the worst game of his pro career last week ... not counting this one, which featured the Pats totaling a paltry 156 yards.
The defense wasn't good enough, either ...and with the season potentially on the line for New England coming in to Week 5? "Tipping point'' is right. Belichick is demonstrating that he employs neither the players, or the knowhow, to fix all of the things that are broken.
